The SitePoint Forums have moved.

You can now find them here.
This forum is now closed to new posts, but you can browse existing content.
You can find out more information about the move and how to open a new account (if necessary) here.
If you get stuck you can get support by emailing forums@sitepoint.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

The "getting advertisers" thread here in this forum was helpful, but I was wondering how much to charge for advertiserments.

A little background... I have an auto enthusiast site which is currently getting site visits at about 30,000 per month, and page views are currently running over 200,000 per month and growing. Current page views are now over 10,000 per day. The site is basically a message board (ubb but switching to vB any day now).

I have had inquiries if ad space is available, and I have responded that it will be in November and I'll get back to them. Ads will likely be banners alone. I am currently using Orbit Cyle to rotate a few of my own banners (they pop their own banner in 10% of the time I think).

How should I determine pricing? Is there a formula? Do I charge a flat rate? How do I "prove" my site's traffic to advertisers (or prospective advertisers). How do I demonstrate the effectiveness of their campaign on my site? I am sure I'll think of other questions after posting this because more come to mind all the time Any help would be appreciated.

But take it with a grain of salt, you will have trouble getting the rates they illustrate.

However having the advertisers solicit you is a good sign and you may be able to get a better than normal rate.

Then again forum advertising is generally the least desirable because of its low clickthrough rate.

You might be able to get away with $20 CPM (Cost per thousand impressions) Sitepoint charges $35 CPM I believe. BUt to put it in perspective people using ad networks may only get $1 CPM. You can also offer different packages. Say $20 CPM for the first 20,000 impressions, $15 CPM after that etc.

Or you may want to start off smaller so not to turn them off it they were thinking of a lower rate.

Internet advertising rates vary so much its really hard to tell you what you should charge. The best bet would be to contact webmasters of similar sites and ask them (assuming they haven't signed a NDA).

I like the idea about dropping it down for additional pre-paid thousand impressions. About starting smaller... I was thinking about stating on my rate page that all orders before *whatever date* are 50% off... so as to encourage additional sign-ups. It's no secret that the site is new... it launched in August, I thought that it might help potential advertisers feel like they were not taking as big a chance.

Any thoughts as to what the best means of showing clients what their impressions and click-throughs are? ie: what software? Would giving them a screen shot of my orbitcycle page be sufficient (blocking out the names of the other advertisers)?

Hawker - congrats on the first deal... so you asked for $20 and got it... no questions asked? And what do you use to prove the impressions?